Misunderstanding
by Skylark Starflower
Summary: With his memories fragmented, many things no longer make much sense to Quote. A simple answer to a rather complex question causes no end of trouble for the two little scout robots.


Authors Note/Disclaimer: I don't own Cave Story, it belongs to Studio Pixel. Please accept my praise, oh mighty programmer! Tee hee. I also don't own Toho's Terror of Mechagodzilla, from which some text has been borrowed.

Here's a question: Can Quote and Curly blush? In my fics, sure, why not? If they can eat, sleep and breathe, why not blush, as well? Tee hee.

Anyway, this fic came about as an excuse for me to draw something. In fact, the only bit of the story I ever really intended to write was what made up the first page of the comic I'll probably be drawing the rest of this into. Everyone told me I should continue it, so now that I've decided how Curly'll react, here it be. Enjoy. Oh, and the use of honorifics and a few Japanese words was not an attempt at being a squeeing fangirl. It was actually because I just can't see Quote calling Momorin by her first name, and Mrs. Sakamoto sounds wrong to me. And, let's face it, they probably live in Japan. Tee hee. And yes, there IS a reason why Quote and Curly aren't using honorifics when talking to each other. It's not just that I forgot after a while to add them. Bonus points to those of you who understand the implications.

"**Misunderstanding"  
****By Skylark Starflower  
****Started August 9, 2006  
****Finished August 18, 2006**

"Even if you are a cyborg, Katsura, I still love you!"

Quote's expression became slightly confused as he watched the characters on screen. It was times like this he wished his memory wasn't so fragmented. If he had ever known what it was they were doing, he certainly couldn't remember it now. So instead, he turned to the person watching the film with him.

"Sakamoto-san, what are the people in the movie doing?" he asked.

Momorin glanced down at the little scout robot, an amused smile on her face. "That? That's called kissing. When two people like each other, sometimes they kiss to show their affection."

Quote's expression turned thoughtful. He was silent for several seconds before standing, a smile crossing his face. Bowing, he said, "Arigato, Sakamoto-san."

Momorin couldn't keep from chuckling. She had grown quite fond of the little robot ever since he and his partner, Curly Brace, had moved in with her and her two children. She couldn't help thinking of him as a son, his faulty memory giving him an almost child-like sense of curiosity.

She reached out a hand and patted him on the head, ruffling his hair. His red hat was hanging up on a hook by the front door, Momorin having requested he not wear it in the house. "You're welcome, Quote-kun."

Still smiling, Quote turned and walked out of the living room at a rather hurried pace, intent on reaching his destination as quickly as possible. The computer room was just down the hall, and he barged on in, announcing himself with a cheerful call of, "Hey, Curly!"

His fellow robot didn't look up from the screen right away, saving the file she had been working on while answering. "Hello, Quote. Would you like something?"

Closing the program and shutting off the monitor, she turned in the chair she had been sitting in and stood, fixing Quote with a grin. It had been rare at first to see him smile, but she found he was doing it more and more often now that they had completed their mission. She hoped this trend would continue. She felt better knowing that he was happy, too.

"Curly, can I try something?"

The request seemed innocent enough. "Sure, what's that?"

Quote stepped forward, taking Curly by surprise as he wrapped his arms around her, one hand bracing her neck, the other holding her arm at her side. Her eyes snapped wide in shock as he tilted her head back and pressed his lips against hers, her face growing hot. He only held the kiss for a couple seconds before letting go and backing away again, a rather blithe grin on his face.

Quote's smile faded as he noticed Curly's reaction, and he tilted his head. She stood unmoving for several moments, just staring at him in utter astonishment. It had never occurred to him to wonder whether or not Curly would know what kissing was, or if perhaps Momorin hadn't told him everything he should have known about it.

"Curly?"

"Quote, you…" Curly trailed off, her expression darkening as shock turned to anger. She raised her hand and slapped him as hard as she could before brushing by him to stalk out of the room.

Quote slowly touched a hand to his stinging cheek, his eyes filling with tears brought about by the pain, but also something else, another emotion he couldn't really identify. What had he done wrong?

"Hey, who pissed off Curly-chan?" Sue poked her fuzzy white face into the computer room just as Quote sniffed, wiping at his eyes. The girl turned mimiga stepped into the room, approaching the distressed robot. Reaching out a paw, she touched his arm. "What's wrong with you?"

He flinched at the touch, looking down. "I don't understand…"

Sue rolled her eyes. That saying had become something of a catch phrase for Quote, and she was sick of hearing it. "You never do. What did you do this time?"

Quote's reply was more to himself than anything. "All I did was kiss her…"  
"Whoa! You did WHAT?" Sue hated the way her fur bristled when something surprised her. "What possessed you to do that?"

He shrugged, looking miserable. Sue sighed, shaking her head in irritation. She liked Quote, she really did, she just had little patience for him whenever he went and got into trouble when he should have known better. It almost made her wish she cared about science so she could learn how to repair his memory and not have to deal with the resulting idiocy.

"Boy, have you got a lot to learn…"

X X X

Curly was still fuming when she ran into Momorin. The scientist was still in the living room, though the movie she and Quote had been watching was now finished. The older woman took one look at Curly as she stalked into the room and closed her eyes, shaking her head. "Oh, dear… Judging from the look on your face, I'm going to guess Quote-kun tried kissing you."

"Yeah, why?" asked Curly, surprise taking some of the edge off her anger. "What do you know about it?"

"I'm afraid that would be my fault. We were watching a movie, and he wanted to know what was going on. I didn't expect him to run off and try it, so I didn't bother to fully explain it. I must have given him the wrong idea."

Curly didn't reply right away, staring at the older woman for several seconds. Then she collapsed onto the couch and laughed, her anger fading away completely. "So, that's why… I'll have to apologize to him now for the way I reacted."

"You weren't too harsh on him, I hope?" Momorin sounded more concerned than anything, but Curly still looked down at her hands awkwardly, feeling as though she had been scolded.

"I slapped him," she replied, feeling her face grow hot once more with embarrassment. "As hard as I could."

"Did he really deserve that for just a little kiss?"

The look Curly gave Momorin suggested the older woman had grown an extra set of arms from her forehead. "Just a little kiss? What were you watching that gave him the idea, anyway?"

"The Terror of Mechagodzilla, if you can believe it."

"What, really? A Godzilla movie?" Curly shook her head, laughing again. "Well, Quote always was a little on the unusual side." Calming down, her expression became thoughtful. "But he's got to have some memory of kissing that he's not aware of, if that's where he got the idea…"

"Oh, why do you say that?" Momorin asked. She put the DVD case she was holding back into its place on a shelf and sat down next to Curly. The female robot proceeded to describe the technique Quote had used, Momorin's expression becoming more and more astonished as Curly continued. By the time she had finished, Curly's face was bright red.

"Hmmm… Well-" The rest of Momorin's sentence was cut off as Sue strolled into the living room.

"Mom, the robot's broken again," she called, a grim smile crossing her fuzzy face.

Curly's head snapped up in alarm. "What? What's wrong with Quote?"

"Oh, he's just sulking over his amnesia again." The mimiga girl's smile became sarcastic. "Says he's been getting in some kissing, though."

Curly slapped a hand to her face. Sue's attitude towards Quote annoyed her sometimes, but for now she chose to say nothing. "I'll take care of it."

With that, she rose from her seat and made her way back towards the computer room, smirking inwardly at the sounds of Momorin reprimanding her daughter. Pausing at the doorway, she peered inside.

Quote sat on the floor, one hand still touching at the cheek Curly had slapped, the other dolefully tracing shapes on the floor. Though both he and Curly weren't very tall, the way Quote tended to carry himself in a crisis had a way of making him seem bigger than he was. But now, hunched over and forlorn, he seemed so very small.

"Quote?" Curly walked into the room as the other robot started, turning to look up at her, a despondent expression on his face. As she approached, she couldn't help flinching as he drew back, worried that she might try to slap him again.

He didn't reply right away, unsure of what to say. Curly sat down next to him and placed her hand gently on the one he held to his cheek. "Did I hurt you?"

"It still stings a little…" he replied, his voice subdued.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have reacted the way I did."

"No, it's my fault. I shouldn't have done that…" He refused to meet her eyes, still drawing invisible lines on the floor. "Sue…explained…"

"Oh, come on, Quote. You didn't know any better. It wasn't your fault, so stop beating yourself up over it."

"…You really mean that?"

Curly smiled. "Of course I do. Come here." She gathered him into her arms, hugging him. Slowly, he wrapped his arms around her, cautiously returning the hug. When Curly started laughing, he allowed a relieved smile to cross his face, reassured to know that his best friend no longer hated his guts…or at least inner workings.

When the two separated again, Curly was pleased to see Quote was cheerful again. He had caught her off guard, it was true, but she should have known better, too. He would never have done something like that if he had understood the full extent of his actions.

Curly couldn't help herself, starting to giggle at the somewhat goofy look on Quote's face. "What's so funny?" he asked, his expression changing into one of mock annoyance.

She just shook her head, still giggling, her eyes fixed on his face. He could be so childish sometimes, but she was still very fond of him. She was surprised by the place she found her thoughts drifting towards. If it hadn't come as such a shock, she may have actually enjoyed the kiss…

"Curly? Are you okay?"

She snapped out of her thoughts to find Quote watching her, concerned. "Oh, I'm sorry. I must have zoned a bit there…"

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

Shaking her head, she replied, "No, everything's fine. But I…"

"Yes?"

"I want to…" She trailed off again, leaning forward suggestively.

Quote blinked. "Uh…is that a good idea, after-"

"Oh, shut up."

With that, she grabbed him and pulled him towards her. It was his turn to go wide-eyed as she pressed her lips hard against his, wrapping her arms around his neck. But after a few seconds the initial shock faded and his eyes started to slip shut of their own accord, as he slid his arms around her back.

A sudden flash accompanied by a somewhat nasty snicker caused the two robots to jump, breaking apart. Sue stood in the doorway to the computer room, a camera held in her fuzzy paws. She waved it at the two, smirking. "I wonder what everyone on the whole of the Internet would think of this picture?" she said, laughing again at the idea.

Quote backed away as Curly's expression darkened, the exceptionally evil look frightening him more than anything he had encountered before. And he had encountered plenty of frightening things on the island.

"You give me that camera right this second…" Curly growled, seething.

"Hell no!" Grinning, Sue turned and ran in the other direction, still cackling evilly.

"Get back here!" Curly charged from the room, giving chase.

Standing alone in the computer room, Quote stared at the doorway the two girls had disappeared beyond. He scratched at his head in confusion, wondering what had just happened.

**The End**


End file.
